This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
Phoenix1 vs. FlyQuest
When FlyQuest and Phoenix1 loaded onto the Rift for Game 1 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series third-place match on Saturday in Vancouver, tension was high. Both teams were trying to reach milestones for their organizations. After five action-packed games and overcoming a 2-1 deficit, Phoenix1 took home the third-place finish.
In Game 1, it appeared Phoenix1 was going to play around No "Arrow" Dong-hyeon on Kog'maw. FlyQuest focused the magic/attack damage hybrid AD carry in teamfights, but all that attention meant Ryu "Ryu" Sang-weok on Jayce and Derek "Zig" Shao on Rumble were able to essentially free to jump in and tilt engagements. Through the early and mid game, Phoenix1 was quicker to move around the map while calling cleaner shots, leading to big advantages in each lane but bottom. By the time the late game was underway, P1 had massively out-scaled FlyQuest and was able to steamroll through the base to take victory in under 32 minutes.
The Game 2 draft featured FlyQuest taking two of the picks P1 had used in the previous match. FlyQuest's Galen "Moon" Holgate played smart on Ivern in the jungle, and ADC Johnny "Altec" Ru was able to show his power with Kog'Maw from the bottom lane. Additionally, Hai "Hai" Lam was able to show why he is so well-known for his Talon play, taking first blood early in the game, then orchestrating endless map pressure as the game progressed.
FlyQuest made a decisive call to turret race Phoenix1, and because it had Ivern with Daisy, it was able to take the upper hand. As a result, FlyQuest took all three of Phoenix1's bot lane turrets by the 13-minute mark. The early game pressure led to late game map control, and 25 minutes in, FlyQuest had taken both Drakes and five turrets to Phoenix1's one. The game was won when FlyQuest took Baron, then sieged the enemy base. After taking two inhibitors, Altec went off in a team fight, earning a pentakill and shattering the Nexus along with his teammates' help.
Throughout Game 3, FlyQuest continued its blistering pace with unrelenting pressure around the map. Once again in mid game it had a massive lead in turrets to the tune of six to Phoenix1's one at the 25-minute mark. In the end, FlyQuest was able to take the game by being much more effective in map rotation and chaining together objective grab after objective grab before Phoenix1 could move into position. The consistent out-plays created an insurmountable advantage, and FlyQuest was able to get to match point.
When the teams loaded onto the Rift for the fourth time, Phoenix1 managed to take back momentum. An early gank by Rami "Inori" Charagh on Elise to help Ryu's Syndra secure first blood on Hai's Ekko set the tone for the game. This time around, Phoenix1 was quicker to pull the trigger on map movements than FlyQuest, and by mid game things were snowballing.
Phoenix1 was able to secure victory through repeated Baron baits. When FlyQuest would face check for vision, P1 would pick off a player, then take a turret or other objective. Because Phoenix1 routinely was more efficient in these teamfights around Baron, Arrow's Twitch out-scaled Altec's Kog'Maw to the point that the Phoenix1 ADC was able to secure a nasty triple kill that ended up being the play that let Phoenix1 break the FlyQuest Nexus and force Game 5.
The last match of the series followed a similar trajectory to its predecessors in this third-place matchup.
Throughout the series, both teams followed similar paths to victory: Gain an early lead, then exploit small advantages until item breakpoints and eventually snowball. Inori was able to get first blood in an awkward Level 1 jungle invade turned into three-on-three skirmish. With the early momentum Phoenix1 was off to the races and able to win the early game.
But instead of rolling over, FlyQuest continued to fight. The team started catching on to Phoenix1's baiting tricks and was able to catch its foes when Phoenix1 was on victory's doorstep. Uncharacteristically, Phoenix1 took a sloppy fight under FlyQuest's top inhibitor turret, and an ace of Phoenix1 breathed new life into a team that was moments away from defeat.
After the map was reset, Phoenix1 returned to a more patient strategy. With three exposed inhibitors, it coolly edged forward and slowly chipped down the structures, beginning the flood of double super minions. FlyQuest had no choice but to engage on a five-on-five teamfight, and when the dust settled, P1's carries and support were left standing with only FlyQuest support Daerek "LemonNation" Hart on Karma between them and the Nexus. The damage dealers prevailed, and Phoenix1 officially took third place in the 2017 NA LCS Spring Split.
Although the result was disappointing for FlyQuest and its fans, the inaugural split can be chalked up as a success. Despite a roster of former Challenger Series players, FlyQuest silenced critics by just making the playoffs, and fourth place is more than anyone could have expected of the team. Phoenix1, meanwhile, flipped its place in the league table. After finishing in the third-to-worst position in the 2016 Summer Split, the team was able to battle through adversity and roster turnover on its way to securing third place in the 2017 Spring Split.
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TSM vs. Cloud9
In a nail-biting thriller for the title of North American League of Legends Championship Series champions, Team SoloMid took down rival Cloud9 in a climactic 3-2 series win on Sunday in Vancouver, Canada.
Team SoloMid came firing out of the block as hometown-hero Vincent "Biofrost" Wang caught C9 jungler Juan "Contractz" Arturo Garcia's Lee Sin invading TSM's jungle, forcing him into AD carry Jason "WildTurtle" Tran to pick up first blood and a Blue buff at two minutes into the series. Shortly after that, TSM top laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell began his reign of terror as Camille, securing a kill on C9's Jeon "Ray" Ji-won top-lane Kennen. TSM snowballed these advantages into the mid game, where mid laner Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg played brilliantly on Taliyah, using Weaver's Walls to force lopsided fights in TSM's favor. By the 22-minute mark, TSM held a 5-to-0 tower lead as well as an 11-to-1 kill lead, which only got worse for Cloud9 as a perfect Weaver's Wall from Bjergsen gave TSM an uncontested Baron kill at 24 minutes. With Hauntzer picking up a 9/0/1 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and TSM only giving up one kill and an Ocean Drake, TSM easily took Game 1 in 28 minutes.
In what quickly become an absolute slaughter, and the quickest game of the NA LCS spring split, C9 picked up first blood at four minutes but couldn't keep up with TSM in the mid game as both Bjergsen's Syndra and Hauntzer's Gragas picked up solo kills around the eight-minute mark. By 10 minutes in, every lane had picked up around two kills, snowballing hard into the mid game. With a 7,300-gold lead at 15 minutes, TSM continued to dominate through consistent teamfight and skirmish wins, leading to TSM opening Cloud9's base at 19 minutes with a 2-for-0 fight and top-lane inhibitor. Bjergsen's Syndra was massive in TSM's historic win, dealing a game-high 17,800 damage and helping TSM accrue a 12,200-gold lead at 20 minutes before closing out the quickest game in NA LCS Finals history after a 4-for-1 in C9's base in under 23 minutes.
TSM looked poised to sweep through the finals as jungler Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen picked up first blood on his signature Lee Sin at four minutes, but Cloud9 fought back. Trading kills with TSM throughout the early game, C9 blew the series wide open with a few kills around 15 minutes, leading to a 2-for-0 fight at 21 minutes and its first post-15-minute gold lead. Back-and-forth teamfighting littered the mid game, with TSM getting the better of C9 at 38 minutes to secure a Baron buff. TSM looked like it was already mentally celebrating as it took a 42-minute Elder Dragon, but Cloud9 would not die, taking a 3-for-2 shortly afterwards. C9 kept its championship hopes alive with a 4-for-1 fight after TSM attempted a Baron kill, taking Game 3 in just under 48 tense minutes.
Team SoloMid post-victory in Vancouver after defeating Cloud9 3-2 in the spring split finals. Provided by Riot Games
Cloud9 had renewed life in Game 4, as support sensation Andy "Smoothie" Ta's surprise Gragas pick secured first blood at five minutes. Cloud9 continued to excel in the early-mid game, as mid laner Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen popped off as Syndra, leading C9 to a strong mid-game advantage. Securing a 24-minute Baron, Cloud9 dominated the map, excelling in neutral objectives with three Infernal Drakes and a Cloud Drake. C9 might have only taken three turrets by the 25-minute mark, but Jensen's game-high 19,900 damage dealt to champions saw Cloud9 through a 5-for-0 ace and 31-minute win to force Game 5.
Cloud9, invigorated by the potential reverse sweep, had a great start with Contractz's Kha'Zix securing first blood at three minutes, but Bjergsen's Syndra picked up a kill just a minute later to even the game. Throughout a scrappy mid game, both TSM and Cloud9 took turns holding a tenuous gold lead, with Cloud9 pulling slightly ahead by 1,000 gold at 23 minutes.
Cloud9 pushed ahead in the late game as both teams were anxiously trying to avoid making a mistake, baiting a Baron attempt for a couple of kills. A 4-for-2 and Baron kill made Cloud9 fans hopes rise as C9 looked to take over the game, but Bjergsen and TSM refused to lose. With Bjergsen finding crucial picks en route to an 8/3/2 KDA, TSM took a 3-for-0 teamfight and Elder Dragon at 41 minutes, pushing into Cloud9's base while completing a perfect 5-for-0 ace to once again take the title of Kings of NA with a 43-minute Game 5 win.
With the historic win for North America's most dominant organization, Team SoloMid punches its ticket to the Mid-Season Invitational, which begins with the Play-In stage at 2 p.m ET on Friday, April 28th.
